At this time of year, the ground often is frozen, making digging virtually impossible, but the Alexandria Archaeology Museum still makes sure students of archaeology, whether children or adults, can learn about the art and science of historic digging.
On Fridays, for example, the museum, located in Alexandria’s Torpedo Factory Art Center, features archaeologists and volunteers cleaning and cataloging some of the museum’s more than 2 million artifacts. Visitors not only get a chance to see archaeology at work, but also can ask questions about preservation and history while the work is going on.
“We want to show archaeology in action,” says Francine Bromberg, an archaeologist at the museum.
The “action” includes the process by which archaeologists identify what period an artifact is from (by looking at such things as material and shape as well as in what context the artifact was found) and how shards fit together to make up a whole, whether it’s a plate or a cup.
In fact, the museum invites children to try their hands at putting together pieces of earthenware. On a table close to the entrance of the tiny museum, five place mats each contain dozens of pieces of broken pottery.
A sign next to the place mats says: “You be the archaeologist. Can you put these plates together?”
Some of the shards make up plates, others cups. The children use tape to hold together the cup or bowl they piece together.
“I think archaeology gives kids a chance to touch the past because it’s so tangible,” Ms. Bromberg says. “It’s exciting to see and hold things that were made hundreds of years ago … in the case of Native American artifacts, thousands of years ago.”
The museum’s artifacts, some of which are displayed in glass cases, include American Indian points that are up to 10,000 years old and teacups and beer bottles that are a few hundred years old.
Staff archaeologists, such as Ms. Bromberg, don’t only have museum duties. They also help the city review building permits to make sure valuable clues to the country’s past are not destroyed when additions or new buildings are constructed in Alexandria.
It was during one such review that Alexandria’s first pottery studio was found in the soil of an Old Town resident’s back yard, Ms. Bromberg says.
The first local potter was Henry Piercy, who moved to Alexandria from Philadelphia in the 1790s. When Piercy set up shop in Alexandria, it meant tavern owners were able to buy local kitchenware for the first time. In the past, everything had been imported, particularly from England.
Usually in summer and early fall, the museum conducts family digs, in which parents and children can work at an actual archaeological site for a day.
“Everybody has fun and learns something,” Ms. Bromberg says. “Even the toddlers find something to do, even if it’s just banging with the trowels.”
But the weather doesn’t have to be warm to visit the museum and the Torpedo Factory, which in itself is well worth a trip, with its studios for 160 visual artists who work, exhibit and sell their art there.
The Torpedo Factory also has an interesting history. It was built in 1918 as a waterfront factory for the manufacture of torpedo shell cases and other weapons. The green torpedo on display in the main hall stands as a tribute to the building’s history and the art center’s namesake.
After World War II, the federal government used the complex as a storage place for objects as diverse as archives from the Nuremburg war crimes trials and dinosaur bones from the Smithsonian Institution. Later, the city of Alexandria bought the building, paving the way for its current uses.
Ms. Bromberg adds a final note on why archaeology is important and what visitors can learn by coming to the museum:
“History is written about the elite in society. The idea of what everyday people — like you and me — were doing is left out, but archaeology can fill in those gaps. That’s one of the great contributions of archaeology.”
WHEN YOU GO:
LOCATION: The Alexandria Archaeology Museum is located at 105 N. Union St., Studio 327, Alexandria, inside the Torpedo Factory Art Center.
Directions: From the Beltway, exit onto U.S. Route 1 north. Take the first right onto Franklin Street, go 10 blocks to the end, and turn left onto North Union Street. Go six blocks north, past King Street, and the Torpedo Factory will be on the right. The Alexandria Archaeology Museum is on the third floor.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. The museum is closed Mondays.
Admission: Free
Parking: Metered street parking is available.
Note: On Fridays, visitors can see volunteers and archaeologists at work, cleaning and cataloging artifacts. The museum also offers family digs (during which families can participate in actual digs), walking tours and summer camp. Most activities occur in the summer months, but “discovery kits” that teach children about how archaeology works are available throughout the year at the museum.
More information: 703/838-4399 or www.AlexandriaArchaeology.org
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